LocationFree Television In Tokyo 61
Jonny Marx writes "A hands-on review from Tokyo suggests that LoctionFree Television works at long last. There are also photos of it in action, streaming pre-recorded TV over the net to a mobile PSP." From the article: "Sony's previous LocationFree TV products required the use of a dedicated portable terminal -- essentially a portable LCD TV with Wi-Fi connection -- that not only added to the cost of the system but could also be a hassle to carry around, especially for people who already travel with a laptop PC. Recognizing this, or perhaps responding to competition from two U.S. start-ups offering similar products, the latest iteration of the technology, the LF-PK1, isn't so fussy and will stream to laptop PCs running Sony's LocationFree Player or to a PlayStation Portable (PSP) running firmware version 2.5 (a free upgrade to this version is available via the PSP's network update function)."
Clarifying what the product is (Score:3, Informative)
You're right. When I read the summary, I thought this was referring to IP TV, like television content being beamed to your PSP or laptop.
It is, but only sort of. The idea is that you have a base station set up at your house, and your PSP or laptop is a receiver for television from your base station. In other words, you're getting the IP "signal" from your base station, not from the content providers directly. The content providers are still using traditional means of getting tv to your base station (i.e. cable, broadcast, or satellite).
You have to use Sony's software (or hardware, if using a PSP) to access your base station. Frankly, I'm not so sure I trust Sony's software on my machine. Their record recently in this regard isn't too encouraging. Aren't there already open source alternatives that will let you have this kind of functionality already? I mean, maybe not on the PSP, but at least on a laptop set up as a MythTV front end or something?
And personally, Location Free televsision doesn't get me too excited, because I'm never away from my house for that long a period at a time. What I'd really like to see is Network Executive Free television.